Method and system for private communication with multiple parties

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application provide a method and system for communication. During operation, the system may receive a message sent by a sender to multiple recipients. The system may determine that a reply mode of the message is set to a private mode which restricts permission to receive replies to the message. The system may receive a reply message sent by a recipient in response to the message. The system may identify, among the sender and the multiple recipients, a communication party with permission to receive the reply message. The system may then send the reply message to the identified communication party.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer-implemented method for communication, comprising:
 receiving a message sent by a sender to multiple recipients;   determining that a reply mode of the message is set to a private mode which restricts permission to receive replies to the message;   receiving a reply message sent by a recipient in response to the message;   identifying, among the sender and the multiple recipients, a communication party with permission to receive the reply message; and   sending the reply message to the identified communication party.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the message is a reminder message sent by the sender to the multiple recipients. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein determining that the reply mode of the message is set to the private mode further comprises:
 determining that a message configuration option of the reminder message is configured by the sender to set the reply mode of the reminder message.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sender and the multiple recipients are members of a group, and the message is a group message sent by the sender to the group. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the group is set as a private group and messages sent to the group are all set to the private mode. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the communication party with permission to receive the reply message includes at least one of:
 the sender,   a first recipient specified by the sender,   a second recipient specified by the recipient,   a first team member recipient that is a member of a same team as the sender, and   a second team member recipient that is a member of a same second team as the recipient.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving, from the sender, a follow-up reply associated with the message;   receiving data indicating a particular recipient selected by the sender from among the multiple recipients; and   sending the follow-up reply to the particular recipient.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the reply message is sent only to the identified communication party. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sender and the multiple recipients are not members of a same team, further comprising:
 receiving a second message with a reply mode which is set to the private mode from the sender.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sender and the multiple recipients are members of a same team, further comprising:
 receiving a second message from the sender, wherein the second message is set to at least one of the private mode and a public mode.   
     
     
         11 . A computer-implemented method for communication, comprising:
 receiving a message generated by at least one of a sender and a recipient during a communication process between the sender and a plurality of recipients;   determining that a reply mode of the message is set to a private mode which restricts permission to receive replies to the message; and   displaying, in a presentation area for the message, corresponding mode identification information which indicates the reply mode of the message is set to the private mode.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 displaying information that identifies a specific recipient with permission to receive an input message entered in response to the message, wherein only the specific recipient with permission to receive the input message receives the input message.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the specific recipient with the permission to receive the input message includes at least one of:
 a sender,   a first recipient specified by the sender,   a second recipient specified by a recipient,   a first team member recipient that is a member of a same team as the sender, and   a second team member recipient that is a member of a same second team as the recipient.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the method further comprises:
 displaying a control for a message configuration option on a page for creating the message; and   receiving user input to configure the control for the message configuration option to set the reply mode of the message.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the method further comprises:
 receiving user input to enter a follow-up reply associated with the message;   receiving user input which selects a particular recipient from among the plurality of recipients; and   sending the follow-up reply to the particular recipient.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the method further comprises:
 displaying an administration page with a group configuration option for a group; and   receiving user input to configure the group configuration option to set the group to one of a private group or a public group,   wherein a group message sent to the group is set to the private mode if the group is set as the private group.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 receiving user input to create a group, wherein the group includes group members that are not a member of any team and group members from another team that is different from a team associated with the sender.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 determining that a group member of the group is not a member of any team; and   setting a group message sent by the sender to the private mode.   
     
     
         19 . A computer-implemented method for communication, comprising:
 sending, by a device associated with a sender, a first message to multiple recipients, wherein a reply mode of the first message is set to a private mode which restricts permission to receive replies to the first message;   receiving a reply message sent by a recipient, wherein the reply message is sent only to one or more reply recipients with permission to receive the reply message among the sender and the multiple recipients;   setting the multiple recipients to be recipients of a follow-up reply in response to the sender selecting an input area on a presentation page associated with the first message to input the follow-up reply; and   setting the recipient to receive a second follow-up reply in response to the sender selecting the reply message sent by the recipient.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the method further comprises:
 creating a communication session between the sender and a plurality of recipients; and   setting a message reply mode of a second message sent by the sender to the plurality of recipients to the private mode in response to determining that the sender and the plurality of recipients are not members of a same team, wherein a second reply message is sent only to a communication party with permission to receive the second reply message among the sender and the plurality of recipients.